The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hibiscus, botanically known as Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Candy Wind.
The new Hibiscus is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new freely-branching Hibiscus cultivars with uniform and compact plant habit appropriate for container production, early and uniform flowering, numerous flowers per lateral branch, desirable flower color, resistance to flower bud abscission, and good postproduction longevity.
The new Hibiscus originated from a cross made by the Inventor in Alva, Fla., of a proprietary Hibiscus rosa-sinensis selection, designated as code No. YB-1242, as the female, or seed, parent with the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis cultivar Pink Versicolor, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Candy Wind was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., on Sep. 13, 1995.
Compared to plants of the white-flowered female parent, the proprietary Hibiscus selection code No. YB-1242, plants of the new Hibiscus have darker green foliage and flowers that are typically about 2.5 to 3.75 cm larger in diameter. Plants of new Hibiscus have slightly lighter green foliage; lighter pink flower color; and flower about two to four days earlier than plants of the male parent, the cultivar Pink Versicolor. In addition, leaf margins of plants of the new Hibiscus are crenate whereas leaf margins of plants of the cultivar Pink Versicolor are pinnatisect to incised.
Asexual reproduction of the new Hibiscus by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Hibiscus are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.